Toys for your Horses.......

This could be something that will help your horse not be so bored when he's in his corral....  Give him a tough football...that he can pick up and toss... or a big tough basketball that won't break under his teeth.  Or, fix him a container, like a plastic milk carton, that has small holes in the bottom edge, then fill it with molasses, where, once he figures out that there is something in the container, will quickly be licked up as it manages to slowly drip out.  I suggest smearing a bit of molasses on the outside of the carton to get him interested....  the carton can be hung from a rope to make things more of a challenge to get to... this also increases his level of cognitive thinking...and, gives him an entertaining afternoon..............

The Look of the Irish: Acts of Random Kindness

The Look of the Irish: Acts of Random Kindness: " I forget to be kind. It used to come naturally, like blessing myself when I saw an ambulance, but somewhere along the way I fell out of pra..."

I Get Suntanned in Summer.....

My Mom, thinks that my Blue eyecoloring around my eyes and my nose is so pretty, in summer....it somes on as a sort of suntan....it fades as soon as the sunlight gets dimmer.... but, it really does look kind of like blue dye on my skin... of course, one of my ancestors was a blue roan...so that may have something to do with it...

Yea!!!!!!!!!! Just for the fun of it....!

Ok... I admit... I'm not sure what to say today..... I have been really busy this past two weeks...trying to get a new job.. interviewing, and just trying to organize myself and my house.  The garage is still full of boxes that I will have to sort thru, and hopefully, not run across a lizard in the midst of it all... involving a LOT of screaming, which may or may not, include someone calling the cops reporting a possible murder.... ( my screams can be LOUD).....  but, I am tickled to say... I have been offered the job.....so, that's a relief to know I am going to have income soon.  Comanche' likes to eat, after all, whether I do, or not.  And, peppermints do not always come cheap, either.  But, as Scarlett, (not the Missouri Foxtrotter, but the movie star) would say.."Tomorrow is another day".... and, "I'll worry about that, Tomorrow"..............  Today... I'm going to enjoy a drive to the mountains....and come home to brush Comanche' good... I noticed the other night that she's shedding some... so, I think she'll enjoy a good brushing..............

Storm Rising....

Tonight, we had a bit of a storm, with some scattered rain and dark clouds with sharp, bright bolts of lightening.  I was at the barn, giving Comanche' some loving, and some cold carrots, that I thought she'd enjoy since it had been a long, hot day.  Kind of like carrot ice cream, to a horse.  Then, up came the clouds and with all the horses out in the corrals, I figured that our barn girl would need some help getting the horses in before the whole cloudbank let loose.  The wind was kicking up the sand into the air, and it was feeling very gritty in our faces.  The horses were more than ready to get back to their stalls and corrals.  So, I went and got Comanche' first, because I had noticed she'd cut her back leg on the left.  I wanted to clean it and get some spray antibiotic on it before she was put in her corral for the night.  She obviously didn't care for the sting of the saline spray , nor the blue antibiotic spray afterwards...but, after all the dancing around, she finally calmed down and we got it applied. I went and got Scarlett down into her stall, telling her the whole way along the driveway, that she'd best not get ants in her britches... she's big enough to really hurt you if she'd get wild ....so, thank goodness, she listened to me telling her "EASY" the entire time..... I think she was glad to get into her stall and away from the stinging rain and the lightening.  Then, I went and took Curtain Call, who decided she'd stop at the washrack area heading towards the arena, and her corral.  She didn't like the sound of the rain falling hard on the metal roof of the barn, and for some reason, didn't like the green steps that she's passed every morning and evening, that rests against the fence and gate of the arena.  What had changed?  Who knows?  I guess the sound effects were causing her to reconsider what was familiar.  She nearly knocked our barn girl down....sidestepping away from those green plastic steps.  At last, we got everyone into their respective "rooms"... and they had their dinners....  Then, we sat and watched the rain until it stopped..  New Mexico weather....wait 15 minutes....and it will be something else!.....

Keeping Your Horse From Overheating In Summer....

If you are hot on a summer day of riding, you can be sure to know that your horse is much hotter than you are, making it susceptible to possible colic, and heatstroke... AND, muscle waste.... Due to the horse's internal temperature, and its concentrated salts it loses to perspiration, it can rapidly suffer from electrolyte depletion.  To cool your horse, you should run cool water over his body, and scrape it off, to prevent the water from becoming trapped in his hair, and becoming warm water.  After scraping the water off, follow again with more cool water, and again, scraping the water off.  This will cool horses, in about 10 minutes of water dousing, and scraping, to a less dangerous temperature.  Also, in proportion, to the size of your horse, learn to make an electrolyte solution, starting with small amounts at first, before your horse is really requiring emergency treatment, that he can learn to like the taste, and this can be given to replace his lost fluids, after a hot, dusty ride.  Horses that sweat, if washed off in one spot, lose so much salt, that you can see the white on the ground after it dries.  Just imagine how this can affect the muscles...not only of the horse's legs, but his internal organs like the heart, lungs and liver, and kidneys.  Serious stuff.... protect your horse.... just as you should stay hydrated in hot weather, so should you keep your horse hydrated. 

Its been HOT!!!

Well... I've got to confess... I've been so hot lately, that I've been indoors with my air conditioning, rather than going to the barn.  I really was trying to get over the very bad sunburn I got 3 weeks ago, on the trailride at Cibola.  Its amazing how a short 30 minute ride in the sunlight gave me such a burn... I do believe it was pretty close to a 3rd degree....deep tissue burn on my neck.  Somehow, even the SPF 50 didn't help there.  So, that's my excuse.  I do love my horse..and so I try to see her in the evenings after its gotten less sunsplashed at the barn.  I drove by one day, and Comanche' was standing in the shade she found along the fenceline.  Even she knows you can get burned standing in the sun!  Bless her heart!   I do feel sorry for the horses... there's not any trees with shade in these parts.  I'm just glad she can find a bit of shade from the bushes that grow along the fenceline.  I've noticed that she gets darker around her eyes and on her nose at her mouth in summer... its beautiful....kind of like Cleopatra.....in a horse..... !   I'm going to try and get a pic of it today.  Too dark last night when I took her carrots and peppermint to her. 

Body Language #3

Body Language #2

Body Language..........

Hello... I'm Sweet Sage.....

My Mom says that I'm the good kitty girl..... since my kitty sister, Sister Sarah, seems to always be the one who knocks over things, and jumps up onto the counters...and manages to break stuff.... I'm about 18 months old...while Sister is not quite a year old, even though she has now outgrown ME!!! I'm calm and collected, however, while Sister is a
"Calamity Jane" and my mom says..."an accident waiting to happen"....

Sister Sarah Sweeps.................

I'm trying to help my Mom sweep the carpet in our outdoor living room.... I think I need to taste these yellow things.... just to be sure they are the right ones to use on the carpet.........."humm".... its not too tasty.... I guess it will do, for sweeping..... since its not good enough to eat......... now, if I can figure out how to hold onto the handle of this broom.........................

Honest, Lord.......

Honest, Lord........ I've tried and tried to be a good kitty............"Yes, I know this is my 6th or 7th life.... its hard to keep track.....I do know you've given me many chances....".... "yes... I need to get it right....".... "OK.............. I realize that I shouldn't have climbed up my Mom's Kiva fireplace....almost knocking off her candlesticks..."...... "and, Yeah... I do not know what possessed me, to jump up on the screens outside...I think it was a moth...or a lizard that I was after....."........ "yes... I know....Mom doesn't want me to do that"...... "yes.... I do know, that chasing Sage, my kitty sister through the house, is naughty....." "but, its soooooo much fun".... "oh..right.... I do manage to knock things over in the process, Lord...."... "I'm so sorry..."............. "yes.... I do know, that I'm lucky my Mom rescued me from being a lost kitty girl.... starving on the streets.....or I could have wound up being coyote dinner..." "and,... I do realize that I'm loved....by my Mom and by You".................... "What's that, Lord?"............. " If I'm really, really good.... You'll make sure my Mom will keep me my whole life thru?....."............." Oh, yes, Sir!!!!....... I will try really, really hard"..... " I promise!!! "...... "my Mom, Lord........... she's pretty nice to me and Sage..... we get plenty to eat, and she gives us nice headrubs...and belly rubs.... "..... and, she opens the blinds for us to look out and watch the birds in the courtyard.........."............. "Yes, Lord.... I think Sage and I have it pretty good, right here.....its pretty much Heaven on Earth, Sir.....".................. "we love it...".......... " and our Mom"...... "Thanks, Lord.... I will try to be a good kitty girl....."............................